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It is not in the spirit of English language to call such an outstanding dignitary by the first name only i.e. "Sava".
[[Image:SvetiSavaMileseva.jpg|thumb|300px|right|St. Sava of Serbia]]
Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Sava of Serbia''', also '''Savvas''' and '''Sabbas''', was the first [[Archbishop]] of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Serbia and is an important saint on the calendar of the [[Church of Serbia|Serbian Orthodox Church]]. His [[feast day]] is observed on [[January 14]] and [[January 12]]. He is considered the founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and of Serbian nationhood. Archbishop Sava was the instigator of Serbian Renaissance in church life, literature, arts and sciences. Archbishop Sava provided Orthodox monateries with churches and iconic works of art which still constitute the most important heritage of Serbian culture.
==Life==
Sava was born Prince Rastko Nemanjic, the son of [[Stefan Nemanja]], the Serbian ruler and founder of the medieval Serbian state. His brother, Stefan Prvovencani, was the first Serbian king. Rastko Nemanjic was born in either 1175 or 1176.
In the early 1190s, the young Rastko left home to join the Orthodox [[Monasticism|monastic]] community on [[Mount Athos]]. Taking monastic vows, he was given the name ''Sava'' (Serbian form of ''Sabbas'') in honour of St. [[Sabbas the Sanctified|Sabbas]]. Initially, he joined a Russian [[monastery]], but then moved to the Greek [[Vatopedi Monastery (Athos)|Vatopedi Monastery]]. At the end of 1197, his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, joined him. In 1198, together they moved to and restored the abandoned [[Chilandari Hilandar Monastery (Athos)|HilandarChilendari]] monastery, which at that time became the center of Serbian Orthodox Christian monastic life.
St. Sava's father took monastic vows under the name ''Simeon''. He died in the Hilandar Monastery on [[February 13]], 1200. He is also canonized as Saint Simeon.
== Archbishop ==
St. Sava managed to persuade the [[Patriarch of Constantinople]], who was residing in Nicea since Constantinople was under Latin rule until 1261, to establish the independence autocephaly of the [[Orthodox Church in the Kingdom of Serbia|Serbian Church]] in the year of 1219. At Patriarch Manuel's request, Sava was selected to be elevated to Archbishop. At first, Sava vehemently refused this offer on the grounds that he was truly unworthy for such a position and calling. He offered several of the monks from Hilandar who were present as potential candidates for the position. In the end, Sava accepted and was [[Consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] in Nicea on the [[Feast]] of St. [[Nicholas of Myra|Nicholas]], [[December 6]], 1219, becoming the first Archbishop of the newly autocephalous Orthodox Church of Serbia. He was 44 years old at the time.
The following are the exact words of the Greek text of Patriarch Manuel's decree elevating Sava to Archbishop, thus granting [[autocephaly]] to the Serbian Church:
:''I, Manuel, the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop of the City of Consrantinople, New Rome, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, have consecrated Sava, Archbishop of all the Serbian lands, and have given him in God's name the authority to consecrate bishops, priests, and deacons within his country; to bind and loose sins of men, and to teach all and to baptize in rhe the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all you Orthodox Christians, obey him as you have obeyed me."
After his consecration, Sava returned to the Holy Mountain in order to say farewell to Hilandar and to receive the blessing and prayers of the entire monastic community of the Holy Mountain.
The newly consecrated Archbishop Sava then traveled by boat to Thessalonica, where he tarried awhile at Philokalos Monastery. At Philokalos, he, along with a few others, made a translation from Greek into Slavonic of the Byzantine ecclesiastical law book ''[[The Rudder]]'' or ''Nomocanon'' of St. [[Photios the Great]] (9th century). Called ''KormchajaKnjiga'' ("Book of the Pilot") in Slavonic, this translation contained not only the ecclesiastical [[canon]]s—including the dogmatic decrees of the seven [[Ecumenical Councils]]—with commentaries by the best medieval Greek canonists, but also numerous precepts of the [[Church Fathers|Fathers]] of the Church andseveral of the imperial edicts of the great Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian]] (6th century).
When he arrived in Serbia Sava decided that on the first day of his archepiscopacy in Žiča, the Feast of the [[Ascension]], 1220, he would, as the as the newly consecrated Archbishop of Serbia, crown his brother Stephen as the first Serbian king. In 1228 he crowned his nephew Radoslav as king. Venerable Sava decided to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Thus, in 1229, after ten years of dedicated hard work and fruitful labor in the vineyard of the Lord in his homeland, Sava decided to renew his own spirit by making a [[pilgrimage]] to the cradle of Christianity itself, Jerusalem, where the Lord first brought salvation to the world. When it was time for Sava to leave the Holy Land for Serbia, he decided to go by way of Nicea. There he met with John, the new emperor of Byzantium (1222-1254) now residing in Nicea, who succeeded Theodore Laskaris. He also met Germanus, the new patriarch who succeeded the late Patriarch Manuel.
In Serbia a new civil war broke out between Radoslav and his brother Vladislav. Unfortunately for Radislav, his military prowess waned as well, for in a fratricidal civil war against his younger brother Vladislav during the summer of 1233, he was defeated and exiled to Durazzo, Albania. Although Sava was unsuccessful in reconciling these brothers—who were both disloyal to their grandfather St. Simeon's call for unity—nevertheless he knew it was better for the country to be ruled by Vladislav. Several years later, as a result of his negotiations with King Vladislav, Sava was able to obtain safe conduct for Radislav, who was allowed to return to Serbia. Unfortunately again for Radislav, his wife had eloped with a French duke during his exile in Albania. Radislav then decided to become a monk, and Sava tonsured him, giving him the name "Jovan (John)".
== Retirement ==
